China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hou Chieh sneers at Shaolin's masters when he beats one of them in a duel. Butpride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord. Hou is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer. Hou and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlord. They launch a daring plan of rescue and escape.